Sarah Peplinski scored twice in a span of 98 seconds midway through the first period and the Point-Rapids Red Panthers held on the rest of the way to grab a hard-fought 2-0 win over the Medford Raiders Friday night at Ice Hawks Arena in Stevens Point.

The junior forward opened the scoring when she broke free down the left side, moved across the slot and slipped a back-hander past Medford goalie Tori Walsh for a 1-0 lead at the 7:10 mark of the first. Makayla Lee earned an assist on the play.

On her next shift, Peplinski grabbed a loose puck in the slot and zipped it past the Medford netminder for a 2-0 lead, with the assist going to Rachel Nolan.

The first would end with the hosts holding the two-goal lead and a 10-2 shot advantage.

Just under two minutes into the second, Rachel Metz almost put the Red Panthers up by three, but her shot from the slot appeared to carom off the taped knob of Walsh's white Bauer stick and bounce harmlessly into the left corner.

The Red Panthers seemed to put a three on the scoreboard with just over six minutes left in the period, but the play was whistled dead as the puck stopped on the goal line and did not cross completely into the goal. The officials signalled 'no goal,' much to the chagrin of the home town fans.

The Red Panthers held a hefty 19-2 shot edge, but Walsh was stopping everything thrown at her on this night.

Point-Rapids had two power play chances in the third, and Medford had one, but neither team was able to score on the man-advantage.

In the period, Walsh stopped all 17 shots fired at her, while her counterpart Emily Bubla kept a pair of shots out of the net for the hosts.

For the game, Bubla notched her fifth shutout of the season--third amongst state leaders--while making six saves. Walsh played a magnificent game for Medford, stopping 44 of 46 shots while taking a tough loss.

The Red Panthers (10-11, 9-1 GNC) travel to Eagle River Monday to take on Northland Pines in a game that could decide the Great Northern Conference title, while Medford (7-10-1, 4-5-1 GNC) hosts the Northern Edge the same evening.